


Shadowed Jealousy

by arihime



Series: Of Family [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Self Confidence Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 20:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7860046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arihime/pseuds/arihime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His family looks at this girl and sees someone precious, a missing sister.</p>
<p>Takumi only sees a stranger at best, and an enemy at worst. Either way, she certainly seems more welcome than him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadowed Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> I know that some people are probably waiting for Ryoma's chapter on Of Family, and while that fic is done, I still need to edit it before I can post it. So have a Takumi fic instead! Lol
> 
> This fic was mostly written after playing Conquest and Revelations, but not Birthright, so Takumi's character might be missing a few nuances from that game. Still, I hope to have written him accurately. I have a lot of Takumi feels right now.
> 
> Thanks to sarai377 for beta’ing and for suggesting the title. I suck at those.

Takumi’s memories of his long lost older sister are fleeting. They are a laughing voice and a flash of black hair. A hand in his as he toddles along, helping to keep him steady. These images are almost dreamlike, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Ryoma and Hinoka and Mother swear she existed, Takumi would have assumed that he made them up. 

But then there is the untouched room in the family quarters, filled with children’s toys and drawings. And every summer, his family takes a trip out to the lake to launch boats in honor of her birthday. 

These things prove that his sister was real, and keep Takumi from forgetting. As if he could forget. Even though his sister is gone, she still haunts his life. Mother and his older siblings always talk about her as if she vanished yesterday, not more than ten years ago.

His missing sister was sweet, they remind him. She smiled, and she laughed, and she was kind. _She was so unlike you_ is what he hears, though part of him wants to think that his family doesn’t mean it that way. Still, without knowing it, they give him another ideal to live up to, another wall that he can never hope to surpass. There is Ryoma’s speed and strength, and Hinoka’s skill, and now this, his missing sister’s kindness. Takumi doesn’t even try to reach for that ideal. Kindness is not something that has ever come easily to him, and besides, Sakura has taken that mantle up for herself without even trying.

It is almost a comfort to know that his sister is gone, that he will never be confronted with that ideal face to face. Because no matter what Ryoma and Hinoka say, Takumi highly doubts that she is still alive. It has been thirteen years, and Nohr is not known for its kindness, especially not to Hoshidans. She is dead, and Takumi will never see her again.

He shouldn’t be surprised when fate proves him wrong. It has never gone his way.

Takumi is in the archery field when the message comes, practicing, as always. He is not naturally gifted, not like Ryoma. He needs to practice if he wants to be worthy, both of Fujin Yumi and of being a prince of Hoshido.

Oboro comes running up to him, panting and out of breath. Takumi lowers his bow immediately and goes to meet her. The look on her face promises ill news, and instantly Takumi’s mind turns to his family. Hinoka and Sakura went out to the Northern village today, without any of their retainers. Has something happened to them?

Before Takumi can open his mouth to question her, Oboro blurts out, “They found her! I don’t know how, but they say it’s her and she’s with Prince Ryoma and—”

“Oboro, calm down. What are you talking about? Who did they find?”

“I—It’s a Nohrian girl. But they’re saying she’s your sister. They’re saying she’s Princess Naomi.”

Takumi nearly drops Fujin Yumi.

Oboro leads him to the throne room, where his family has gathered with the girl. His sister, the lost princess. Even before he sees her, Takumi doesn’t buy it. Tensions with Nohr are starting to build again, making it the perfect time to send a spy. And what better spy than an impostor princess? 

Mother is just exiting the throne room when they arrive. Her face lights up when she sees him. “Oh, Takumi! I was just about to go and find you! Thank you, Oboro.” 

Oboro bows and leaves, and Takumi has to restrain himself from asking her to stay. He might need backup to deal with the impostor. More than that, though, Mother looks like she’s been crying, and Takumi really doesn’t know how to handle that.

“Takumi, it’s wonderful. Naomi has come back.”

“Are you sure it’s her, Mother?”

He doesn’t mean to say that out loud, not to Mother at least. Not when she looks so happy. But Takumi can’t keep his suspicion down.

Mother smiles at him. “Yes, of course I am. A mother will always recognize her own child.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Oh, I know what you mean, Takumi. My wonderful boy, always looking out for all of us.” She strokes his bangs fondly. “But you’ll recognize her as well, when you see her.”

Takumi nods, mainly to appease Mother. She opens the door to the throne room and leads him in with a gentle hand on his back.

The girl is turned away from him when Takumi arrives, speaking to Ryoma. His brother looks more at ease than Takumi has seen him in a long time. Hinoka and Sakura stand beside him, both staring at the stranger with an unchecked joy. 

(They have never looked at him like that.)

If the Nohrians have sent an impostor, then they’ve done their research well. The girl looks the part, black haired and barefoot, and when she turns her eyes are red. He is impressed by those especially, and by the way they almost seem to glow. The sight of them makes the ghost of a memory whisper through Takumi’s mind, but he pushes it down.

This girl is not his sister.

She smiles when she sees him, and before the others can introduce him says, “You must be Takumi.”

Despite himself, he jolts at hearing his name on her lips. The memory comes back in full force, of a little black haired girl standing barefoot in the grass, her eyes glowing in the evening sun. She holds her hand out to him and calls— 

“Takumi?”

The Nohrian accent breaks through the memory, drawing Takumi back into the present. He scowls; he can’t let himself forget that this girl is the enemy. 

“So,” he says, not bothering to keep the scorn out of his voice. “You’re supposed to be my sister.”

Her smile drops, and she recoils from him. “I—I guess so.” She mumbles, looking from him to Mother, and his siblings behind her. She ducks her head and adds, “Everyone says I am.”

“Of course you are, Naomi.” Mother smiles at the girl reassuringly. “Your memories will come back soon. You’ll see.”

Ah, isn’t that a convenient excuse. And yet, no one else seems to have picked up on the same signs that Takumi has. Or if they have, they’ve chosen to willfully ignore them. Ryoma and Hinoka and Mother, they are too jubilant and excited to see the truth, and Sakura is too naive to know better. So it falls on Takumi to stay vigilant, to protect his family from this intruder, no matter how welcome she may be. 

Certainly, she seems more welcome than him. 

Ryoma comes up and sets a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She startles a bit, but lets him. 

“I understand your suspicion, Takumi, but you were young when Naomi was taken. Trust me when I say, this is her.” Ryoma says.

It isn’t a matter of trust, Takumi wants to tell him. At least, not of his family. He trusts Ryoma, and Mother, with his life. But he doesn’t trust Nohr not to take advantage of their feelings, to use that weakness against all of Hoshido. 

Takumi’s scowl deepens at the thought. Hinoka frowns at him in return.

“She helped Ryoma save me and Sakura from Faceless in the Northern village.” She chimes in, springing to the girl’s defense. “Why would she do that if she was an impostor?”

“What? When did this happen?”

They all exchange sudden, sheepish glances, and then slowly the story comes out. Ryoma took this stranger to save Sakura and Hinoka. He couldn’t have even been bothered to inform Takumi that his sisters were in danger. He trusted this girl more than he trusted his own brother. Their reasoning is sound enough—they had to act quickly in order to reach the village in time, but it doesn’t keep Takumi from burning with jealousy, and something more. Something deeper.

“Sorry, Takumi.” Ryoma says again. “There wasn’t time.”

“I understand.” Takumi mumbles. 

He hates this girl, whoever she may be. The feeling is a swift and violent one. He hates her for suddenly appearing and automatically gaining his family’s love, when Takumi has had to work for it for years. He hates her for having their trust just as effortlessly, when she has done nothing to deserve it. 

Most of all, he hates her for the heartache she will undoubtedly cause his family. That she has already caused, because for all that they are happy now, Takumi knows that Ryoma and Mother can’t have taken her supposed amnesia lightly. They were so sure that she would come back to them, but does it really count, if she doesn’t remember? If the memories that have shaped their relationship with her no longer exists? 

(In a way, it is almost better than she doesn’t remember. It gives Takumi the space and decisiveness he needs in order to protect his family. If she had come with memories, and had known him and hugged him and greeted him like a brother, Takumi doesn’t think he could be this spiteful. Or maybe he would be more so. He doesn’t know.)

“I’m so glad we’re all together now.” Mother says. She beams at all of them, and his siblings smile back in return. Even the girl manages a tentative smile of her own.

Takumi doesn’t smile, but he tries to work his scowl into something more neutral. He isn’t going to upset Mother, he decides. Whoever this girl is, Mother deserves the happiness of thinking that her daughter is back, and that her family is whole.

He will find out, though, if this girl is an impostor, and if she is, nothing will save her from his wrath. Takumi will not tolerate people threatening his family. But if she is who she says she is. . .

His mind brings back the memory of the little girl in the grass. She was smiling, and he knows that smile was for him and him alone. If she really is his sister. . .

If she really is his sister, he will have another ideal to live up to, another role model that he can never hope to overcome. Takumi is already overshadowed by all of his siblings. What will happen, he wonders, if he has to bear the weight of another?


End file.
